BABAHOYO , Ecuador -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- At least 10 people have died and thousands have been left homeless after torrential rains inundated large parts of Ecuador , officials said Thursday .

Authorities said the rains , which began a week ago , were the worst in a quarter century . Civil defense officials said more than 10,000 families have been affected .

Los Ríos -- north of Guayaquil -- was the hardest hit of nine provinces affected , civil defense officials said .

In Los Ríos province , five people died when an ambulance drove into a hole at the side of a street at dawn Thursday . A newborn boy , his parents , a doctor and a driver were killed .

Streets also were flooded in the capital of Quito . Watch the scenes of devastation in Ecuador ''

On Wednesday , President Rafael Correa declared a state of emergency and ordered 2,000 members of the army and the police to help rescue workers . Correa increased by $ 25 million the $ 10 million he already had allocated for the emergency efforts . He also directed another $ 88 million to municipalities .

Once the crisis has eased , an emergency fund will give seed and fertilizer to help farmers whose fields were washed away , Ecuador 's government said . There also have been reports of livestock drowning .

Cristina Medina , a spokeswoman for the Ecuadorean Red Cross , said provinces most heavily affected were along the Pacific coast , where drinking water was often in short supply .

In some towns , high waters forced entire neighborhoods to evacuate , Medina said . E-mail to a friend

@highlight

At least 10 people have died in torrential rains in Ecuador , officials say

@highlight

Authorities say the rains are the worst in a quarter century

@highlight

Civil defense officials say more than 10,000 families have been affected

@highlight

Ecuador 's president declares state of emergency , orders army , police to help